In Kapilavastu there lived a Brahmin named Kukkuripa. Puzzling over the problems of existence, he came to place his trust in the Tantra, and in time chose the path of renunciation. He began his itinerant career by begin his way slowly toward the caves of Lumbini.

One day, on the road to the next town, he heard a soft whining in the underbrush. When he investigated, he found a young dog so starved he could no longer stand. Moved to pity, he picked her up and carried her with him on his long journey, sharing the contents of his begging bowl, and watching with delight as she began to grow strong and healthy.

By the time they arrived in Lumbini, Kukkuripa had become so accustomed to her affectionate, good-natured company that he could not imagine living without her. And so he searched for an empty cave large enough for them both. Every day, when he went out begging, she would stand guard, waiting patiently for his return.

So deeply involved was Kukkuripa in the continuous recitation of his mantra, that twelve years pass as quickly as one. Almost without realizing it, the yogin attained the magical powers of prescience and divine insight. But the gods of the Thirty-three Sensual Heavens had taken notice. In fact, they were so impressed that they invited him to celebrate his achievements by visiting their paradise. Flattered, and amazed by their attentions, he accepted the invitation and embarked upon a ceaseless round of self-indulgent feasting and pleasure. On earth, his faithful dog waited patiently for her master to return. Although she had to root around for whatever she could find to eat, she never strayed far from the cave.

And, in truth, she was not forgotten. Despite his luxurious existence, Kukkuripa sorely missed his loving companion. Again and again he told the gods that he needed to return to the cave to care for her.

But his heavenly hosts urged him to stay, saying: “How can you even think about returning to a dog in a dark cave when you are enjoying our good favor and every luxury and comfort we can offer? Don’t be so foolish—remain with us here.” Time and time again, Kukkuripa allowed himself to be persuaded.

But one day when he looked down from the Thirty-three Heavens, he realized that his loyal dog was pining for him—her eyes were sad, her tail drooped, and she was so thin he could see her ribs. Kukkuripa’s heart ached for her. Then and there he descended from paradise to rejoin her in the cave.

The dog leaped and pranced with joy when she caught sight of her beloved master. But no sooner did he sit down and begin to scratch her favorite spot, just behind the ears, than she vanished from sight! There before him, wreathed in a cloud of glory, stood a radiantly beautiful dakini.

“Well done!” she cried. “Well done! You have proved your worth by overcoming temptation. Now that you have returned, supreme power is yours. You have learned that the mundane power of the gods is delusory, for they still retain the notion of self. Theirs is the realm of fallible pleasure. But now your dakini can grant you supreme realization—immaculate pleasure without end.”

The she taught him how to achieve the symbolic union of skillful means and perfect insight. As an irreversible, infallible vision of immutability arose in his mindstream, he did indeed attain the state of supreme realization.

Renowned as Guru Kukkuripa, the Dog Lover, he returned to Kapilavastu, where he lived a long life of selfless service. And in due time, he ascended to the Paradise of the Dakinis with a vast entourage of disciples.

This is Celeste – female Tibetan Mastiff from the Czech Republic.Her owner Petr visits older people with her, giving them a bit of warmth and joy. This dog therapy costs Celeste a lot of energy.Her children (father is famous Kunzang NAM KHA) are doing the same.

“If you love your animal very much, this is what you must do for them, for their good rebirth and quick liberation from samsara. When the animal is dying or has died, recite OM MANI PADME HUNG, Heruka mantra and Heruka root mantra, and other mantras such as the Milarepa and Namgyalma mantras. You can recite the long mantras 21 times or more, and one mala or more of the short mantras. Blow strongly on the animal’s body after each recitation. Or, you can blow on water, visualizing each deity absorbed into the water. Each drop of water now has the power to purify negative karmas. Then, as you pour the water on the animal, all its negative karmas are purified.

If the animal is dying, you can do Medicine Buddha practice, visualizing the seven Medicine Buddhas on the crown of the animal. Then, you can also do 35 Buddhas practice, with nectar coming out of the 35 Buddhas and purifying the animal’s negative karma. Do this with strong refuge in the 35 Buddhas to protect and guide your animal.

When the animal is in the process of dying or even after its breath has stopped, if you have some sand from a Kalachakra sand mandala, you can mix it with butter and put it on the crown of the animal’s head. Each sand grain has many Buddhas abiding in it. It’s especially good if it has been blessed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama”. [3c]

Lately someone asked me in a mail about the mening of kekhor, so I thought it would be good to write about this characteristic item on my blog.

Kekhor is a Tibetan Mastiff’s decoration made of wool from yak (rarely from sheep) dyed red, but sometimes kekhors are dyed for example bright yellow or bicoloured kekhors.

The idea of an intense red kekhor propably came from the passion of Tibetan people to intense colours.Thangkhas and ritual items, like jewellery and clothing, are also colourful.It comes, most definitely, from the fact that Tibetan Plateau’s vegetation is mostly in the shades of gray and colours make the world of Tibetans more optimistic.

Kekhor, besides the decorative function, also has practical meaning:

It scares off potential agressors. A Tibetan Mastiff with kekhor seems bigger and more dangerous.If it comes to contact with a predator, it is a protection of the neck area.A dog with kekhor is better visivile to the owner, so he can always know where he is.An outsider seeing the decorated Mastiff from afar won’t risk meeting it.

A real kekhor of Yak’s wool you can know after a specific smell. Original kekhory from Tibet can be bought in Tibetan Masitiff Shop:

An undercover report has exposed a shocking trend in a Chinese city, which sees pet owners sending their dogs to street vets to have their vocal cords removed to stop them from barking.

Horrifying pictures and videos have emerged which show one unlicensed vet, in south-west China, performed devocalisation operations on dozens of dogs in the street as his assistant forced open the mouths of the animals.

The news has sparked an outrage among the public as people and animal lovers called the procedure ‘unnecessary’ and ‘cruel’.

The undercover report, by Chengdu Business Daily, claimed that the vet, known with a surname Zeng, had been running his business at a flower and bird market in Qingbaijiang district of Chengdu since September 14.

Mr Zeng can be seen setting his booth at the side of a road. His equipment, displayed on a folding table, included a thong, a torch, cotton wool balls and tourniquets.

The act of getting pet dogs devocalised can be observed around China.

Most owners choose to let their animals undergo the surgery to stop their pets from barking too much.

Dogs could suffer breathing difficulties and increased level of stress and risks of threats to safety as a result of the operation.

Animal rights group PETA Asia explained that devocalisation took away dogs of their natural ability to vocalise and communicate. An officer from the group said the procedure ‘is unnecessary and inherently cruel’.

Keith Guo, a spokesman from PETA Asia, said: ‘It’s horrifying to know so many dogs have suffered through this procedure at the hands of this unlicensed vet.’

Irene Feng, director of Animals Asia’s Cat and Dog Welfare, agreed that devocalisation is a cruel and harmful operation to dogs.

‘It is being carried out in unsanitary conditions risking pain and infection for the animal, while such mutilation is obviously extremely negative for the dogs’ welfare and quality of life,’ Ms Feng stressed.

Both animal groups admitted there are no organisation running a specific campaign against the devocalisation trend in China, but they have been working hard to increase the awareness about responsible companion animal ownership.

An Oregon appeals court agreed Wednesday that a couple must surgically lacerate their dogs’ vocal cords in a procedure known as “debarking” or “devocalization,” following a lawsuit brought by neighbors annoyed by the pets’ “incessant barking.” The ruling upheld a lower court order.

The case began in 2002, when Karen Szewc and John Updegraff began breeding Tibetan Mastiffs, large fluffy dogs often employed to protect sheep from predators, at their home in Rogue River, Ore., about 150 miles south of Eugene.

The married couple’s neighbors, Debra and Dale Krein, quickly grew tired of the dogs’ barking. According to the Kreins, the “dogs bark[ed] uncontrollably for long periods of time while defendants [were] away from the residence,” court documents state.

But they weren’t the first ones to take action against the dog owners. In both 2004 and 2005, Jackson County cited Szewc for violating a county code provision on public nuisance “by allowing two of her dogs to bark frequently and at length,” according to court documents.

Szewc argued the provisions didn’t apply to her because she ran a farm on the couple’s 3.4-acre parcel of land, which includes sheep, goats and chickens. Farms fall under different ordinances.

The Jackson County Circuit Court rejected this argument, saying the property was not a farm, ordered her to pay $400 and to debark the two offending dogs or to move them to a different area.

It is unclear if she debarked these dogs, but in 2012, the Kriens filed a lawsuit against Szewc and Updegraff, claiming they had not taken the necessary actions to prevent the dogs from barking. At that point, there were at least six dogs on the property, all either Tibetan or Pyrenean Mastiffs, the Oregonian reported.

Again, the dog owners argued that they were not subject to the dog barking ordinance because they were running a farm.

The Kreins claimed the dogs often began barking at 5 a.m., sometimes waking the couple. Relatives refused to visit, and their children hated being around the house, according to the Oregonian. They recorded the barking to prove it.

“The dogs are my employees,” Szewc told the Oregonian. “We do not have the dogs to harass the neighbors. We have the dogs to protect our sheep.”

“The next line of defense is a gun. I don’t need to use a gun, if I can protect my sheep with dogs,” she added. “This is a passive way of protecting livestock.”

In April 2015, a jury sided with the Kreins and ordered Szewc and Updegraff to pay them $238,000 in damages. Also in response to the suit, Judge Timothy Gerking ordered the couple to debark the mastiffs, since they hadn’t stopped them from barking using other means such as shock collars.

Szewc and Updegraff again argued unsuccessfully that the dogs were necessary because they had a farm.

On Wednesday, a three-judge panel of the Oregon Court of Appeals consisting of Joel DeVore, Chris Garrett and Bronson James upheld that ruling, agreeing that the dog owners were not running a farm.

The question of whether debarking is an appropriate remedy was not at issue in the case.

Debarking is a surgical procedure in which parts of a dog’s vocal folds or cords are cut out in an effort to lower the volume of its barks or, more severely, to eliminate the dog’s ability to bark altogether, according to the American Veterinary Medical Foundation.

The procedure is partially prohibited in six states, according to the AVMF. Many animal welfare organizations oppose it, as do some veterinarians.

“Debarking is not a medically necessary procedure,” Jeffrey S. Klausner, chief medical officer of the Banfield Pet Hospital, told the New York Times in 2010. “We think it’s not humane to the dogs to put them through the surgery and the pain. We just do not think that it should be performed.”

Wednesday’s ruling left some animal rights activists reeling.

“We are just shocked,” David Lytle, a spokesman for the Oregon Humane Society, told the Oregonian.